...hold no official Independence Day celebrations other than hoisting the national flag on Saturday in deference to the 14 million people affected by devastating floods. President Zardari is expected to spend the day with survivors in the worst affected regions. International aid agencies have warned of a second wave of deaths due to deadly waterborne diseases. A Red Cross spokesman said there was no clean drinking water available to millions of people. Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations Zamir Akram told the BBC that there wasn't yet enough international support for the relief effort, but that aid had begun to flow.

"I don't think that Pakistan has been abandoned. I think that the relief assistance that is now emerging is...As the gravity of the situation and the extent of the damage that has been caused by these unprecedented floods spreads around the world, the response is growing."

The head of an American-based charity has told the BBC that the people of Niger are now experiencing a famine because of drought. The Africa director of Helen Keller International, Shawn Baker, said drought had wiped out crops and killed livestock.